Connector assemblies for interconnection of electrical circuits between a towing and a towed vehicle are marketed in numerous different designs. Commonly, the towing vehicle will have a plastic receptacle mounted on or adjacent the rear bumper and the towed vehicle or trailer will have a plug to fit the receptacle, usually carried by a length of cable. Multiple electrical terminals insulated one from another in both plug and receptacle are common to most designs. Such terminals are usually formed as elongated metallic elements which extend through the receptacle and the plug socket in which they may be molded in place or, in some cases, held mechanically in place. When a connector socket is exposed to the environment, as in the case of a socket mounted on the bumper or rear panel of a towing vehicle, the outer end which is designed to accept the matching plug from the towed vehicle is exposed to the elements, especially when the connector is not in use and a plug is not inserted in the socket. Penetration of the socket by contaminants or moisture can cause shorting and other electrical problems. The axial openings in the socket through which the terminal elements extend are frequently the most serious causes of leakage. Some attempts have been made to seal the terminals in the openings in which they are inserted, but difficulties have arisen because of the relatively loose fit or the difference in materials; conducting terminals usually being metallic and the body of the socket usually being of insulating plastic material of different coefficient of expansion.
The present invention has as its primary object the provision of a socket connector in which electrical terminals are securely fixed in sealed relationship to the body of the socket.
A secondary object is the weatherproofing of socket connectors.
Another object of the invention is the maintenance of the integrity of electrical circuits connected to the terminals of socket assemblies.
A further object is the provision of electrical terminals in connector sockets which have an effective thickness close to those of the socket openings in which they fit.